


Waking Up In Your Embrace

by MellowWrites



Series: TiMER Series [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, First Time, M/M, Making Out, Sexual Content, Sleeping Together, Sleepy Cuddles, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-04 22:40:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11000505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellowWrites/pseuds/MellowWrites
Summary: Tooru and Hajime fall asleep together for the first time since they started dating.Snippets of their future together.





	1. Waking Up In Your Embrace

Tooru squirms, feels his muscles tense at his sudden movements and tries to stretch them out. His body is warm all over and it’s so nice he doesn’t want to open his eyes just yet - actually, it would seem the room is still dark and if he’s waking up now, then he’d be waking up to nightfall.

He hums, pressing his face to the warmth he holds in his arms. Tooru swallows past the dryness in his throat and wonders what time it might be, or what time he most likely fell asleep at. He doesn’t remember much other than lazy kisses and soft chuckles while laying in bed, his computer playing old reruns of a comedy he watched as a child.

The room is silent now, and Tooru wonders if Hajime had shut the computer off before he left. He frowns, rubbing his cheek into his firm and warm pillow he holds when he hears the hum of content come from it.

He’s not holding a pillow.

Tooru slowly opens his eyes, the darkness of his room forcing his eyes to adjust to the light pooling in from the lamp post outside. He’ll have to shut the blinds before he goes back to sleep if he wants a full night's rest, but for now, Tooru is more concerned about his pillow talking to him.

It’s not a pillow though, and Tooru wakes up further when he realizes he’s enveloped in a hug with Hajime, his best friend and boyfriend. He blinks through the darkness, barely registering Hajime’s soft expression as he sleeps beside Tooru, one arm slung under him to hold him to Hajime’s chest.

They must have fallen asleep, but when Tooru looks around he can’t help but wonder who turned off his computer - or even who placed a blanket on top of him and Hajime.

His movement must have stirred Hajime as he looked around his room, because he makes a soft groaning sound before yawning. It kickstarts Tooru yawning as well, turning back to look down and watch Hajime come back to the waking world.

Hajime blinks up at him, his eyes squinting in the darkness to register Tooru’s face. Before Tooru can say anything, Hajime has pulled him closer, back to his chest and they’re rolling to the side so they may face each other.

Tooru stares as best he can in the shadows of his room into Hajime’s eyes, so dark from lack of light they appear black. He reaches forward, caressing the side of Hajime’s face when a smile appears, lazy and simple through Hajime’s sleepy haze.

“Hey…”

“Hi,” Tooru breathes, wonders if this lightheaded feeling he has is what it will always be like to wake up in the enveloping embrace of Iwaizumi Hajime, to see the other man wake up and smile at him.

“What time is it?” Hajime slurs, reaching up to rub his eye, and Tooru feels the rest of Hajime’s body go tense as he tries to stretch away the sleep in his limbs.

Tooru peers around Hajime to the clock on his table and sees that it’s nearing midnight. “Too late to go home, and too early to be waking up…”

Hajime huffs out a small chuckle, settling back to relax his limbs around Tooru. “Then maybe we should go back to sleep?”

Tooru rubs his thumb softly along Hajime’s cheek, feeling stubble under his fingers that sends micro-shockwaves through his body. His mind registers that this is the first time they’ve fallen asleep in each other’s arms, both of them, since they started dating two weeks ago.

“I’m so awake now though,” Tooru whispers, and Hajime hums, turns to kiss Tooru’s palm. “Kaida-chan was very excited today, wasn’t she?”

Hajime grunts, nuzzling his nose into Tooru’s hand. “It’s probably because she can feel the tension leaving my parents finally.” His eyes snap open to focus on Tooru’s, and Tooru moves his hand away to draw circles on Hajime’s chest. “What happened? My dad said you went to see him yesterday.”

Tooru gives Hajime a lopsided grin, shrugging his shoulders before ducking closer to Hajime’s warmth and sighing into his collarbone. “Nothing you need to worry about…”

“Now I’m really worried,” Hajime mumbles into Tooru’s hair, and Tooru laughs behind his lips as he kisses Hajime’s neck. “What did he say to you?”

“Just that when he first met me you declared you would marry me,” Tooru answers softly, his lips ghosting over Hajime’s skin.

Hajime shivers at the contact, but he moves his hands to rub along Tooru’s back. “What? I don’t remember that.”

“Neither do I, but I can bet it’s because you thought you were supposed to marry your best friend,” Tooru pulls away, turning a smile up to Hajime before he’s flipped onto his back.

“Guess I somehow always knew or something,” Hajime whispers, the shadows on his face making it hard for Tooru to see him clearly. But he knows Hajime is smiling, can hear it in his voice, and he feels it when Hajime moves closer to kiss him.

“I love waking up next to you,” Tooru whispers back, grazing his fingers down Hajime’s back, feeling his shirt shift with Tooru’s hands. Hajime hums, nuzzling against Tooru’s cheek before peppering kisses along his jaw and finding his lips again. “I want to wake up next to you everyday…”

Hajime laughs lightly, his lips barely touching Tooru’s. “I don’t think our parents would let that happen very much.”

Tooru tilts his chin up, kissing Hajime again and moving his mouth as sensually as he can, eliciting a groan from Hajime. Hajime presses back, holding Tooru down in a way that Tooru wishes could be more.

But he’s tired, and he’s not sure he’s ready to go further. So he runs his fingers into Hajime’s hair, deepens the kiss and their mouths move together for a moment until neither can breathe.

Hajime’s giving labored breaths then, and Tooru wonders how long he needed to breathe before Tooru pulled away. He smiles up at Hajime, moving his hands back to Hajime’s face to run his thumbs and fingers along the features he knows by touch, still unable to see in the darkness.

Hajime moves down again, only he misses Tooru’s lips and starts to mouth at his neck instead. Tooru’s body reacts to the teasing, and he tilts his head back in response, his breath catching. Pulling at Hajime, Tooru rocks his body upwards before twisting, throwing Hajime off to the side and sitting on his hips. Hajime grunts at the movement, his face twisted in confusion for a second before Tooru moves down to kiss him again.

Their bodies feel like they’re on fire after that, hands roaming in the darkness and touching anywhere they can reach. Tooru’s not sure if he’s breathing right, his breaths heavy whenever he pulls away to kiss somewhere else on Hajime’s neck or mouth. There’s a pressure building in his stomach before he stops, and Tooru stills on top of Hajime.

Hajime freezes as well, his breathing hard and hot against Tooru’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Hajime asks, slowly moving to cup Tooru’s cheek, trying to catch a glimpse of his face in the light of the window.

Tooru shakes his head, sitting up and holding Hajime’s hand in place. “Sorry, I just… wasn’t planning to do this.”

Hajime sits up with him, his other hand falling to Tooru’s leg and rubbing soothing circles close to his knee. “It’s okay, we can stop.”

Tooru nods, moving forward to kiss Hajime lightly. The kiss isn’t deepened, and Tooru appreciates it before settling on Hajime’s lap. Hajime adjusts with him, holding him close and tangling their limbs together, the bed sheet kicked off of their too warm bodies.

They catch their breaths, sitting together against the wall and looking out into the dark of Tooru’s bedroom. Outside, they hear a soft pattering of rain beginning to sprinkle, and they know the forecasted storm will begin.

Tooru glances to where his computer is, and hums for a second. “What’s up?” Hajime asks, his hand moving to thread through Tooru’s hair.

“Did you turn my computer off?”

Hajime stills, and Tooru starts to worry. “Uh… I thought you did that…”

They sit for a moment, the rain picking up before they both scramble away from one another and Tooru launches himself off the bed to turn on the light.

Everything in the room is just as it was when they were watching the show, but Tooru takes notice of their jackets having been picked up and draped on his chair. Their homework was even neatly stacked up on his desk and Tooru stares before turning to look at Hajime.

Hajime is staring at the bedside table where his clock is, face burning red. Tooru follows his gaze, and his face feels warm when he sees it too.

_Boys,_  
_I cleaned up the mess you made and tucked you in. I even called Hajime’s mother to tell her he was staying over since you both had passed out around 5. She doesn’t mind, but Hajime will need to go home as soon as possible tomorrow._  
_Sleep well._  
_Love, Mom_

The note lays on top of a plate of cookies, saran wrap covering the plate to keep them fresh.

Tooru turns back to Hajime. “I guess… my parents don’t care if you sleep over?”

Hajime groans, burying his face in his hands before toppling over onto his side.


	2. To Me, This Is Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attempt at spending the weekend away from one another ends far quicker than either would like to admit.

Hajime stares at his desk, avoiding the words on the page as his mind wonders.

Tooru had suggested they take some time to spend with their families that weekend, seeing as the entire time they’d been dating - a month in two days, actually - they had not spent more than a few hours apart. Hajime saw the reason in it, but it didn’t help his unease at being without Tooru by his side.

Maybe their relationship is unhealthy? Are they too dependant on one another?

He shook his head, focusing on the homework due that Monday. Unfortunately, he couldn’t bring himself to see the words on the page. English isn’t his best subject, but he could comprehend words occasionally.

But this character is eating chocolate and the only thing Hajime thinks about in relation to chocolate is Tooru’s eyes. So of course, now he’s only thinking about Tooru’s eyes and face, and eventually he’s thinking about other things so his head slips from his hand that it’s propped on and slams down into the English textbook.

Barely a month and Tooru has eaten away at Hajime’s mind in ways he never thought possible.

Sitting up, Hajime glares over at his phone. Tooru had sworn he wouldn’t answer Hajime’s calls or texts that weekend because he’d be spending it with his family. Hajime wishes he could say the same, but his father is on a business trip and his mother had taken his sister out to visit family, telling Hajime that he’d be alone to focus on school work. Also that Tooru could come over, but he couldn’t stay over, and by her blushing face, Hajime gathered she didn’t want to know what he’d do alone with Tooru or to think about it.

It didn’t matter though, Tooru doesn’t want to see him this weekend.

Sighing, Hajime sits back up to glare at the wall his desk sat against. He isn’t going to be able to focus on homework, and he probably wouldn’t be able to do much of anything else, so he figures it would be best to go to sleep.

A door slams from downstairs, and Hajime perks up at this. His mother said it would be for the night, and his father isn’t due to come home until next week. Hajime stands, turning to look at his door. Is someone breaking into his house?

Gulping, Hajime moves slowly to his door, feeling his heart race. Before he can reach it, Tooru is throwing open the door and bouncing over to him with a giant grin.

“Iwa-chan!”

“Wha—Tooru?!” Hajime catches him in a hug, too confused to hug him properly. Tooru nuzzles his face against Hajime’s neck, and he drops his unease to focus on the many questions coming through his head. “What are you doing here?”

Tooru freezes in his movements against Hajime’s neck. “Um…”

“You said you wanted to see your family this weekend,” Hajime grunts, pushing back from Tooru to look at him. “Also, how did you get into my house?”

Tooru grins, reaching into his pocket to pull out his keys. Hajime gives them an odd look, but focuses on the clover charm. “Your mom gave me a key when we started high school for emergencies!”

Hajime turns his incredulous stare to Tooru’s face. “I… I didn’t know that…”

Tooru shrugs, pocketing his keys and throwing his arms around Hajime’s neck, leaning forward to press his forehead to Hajime’s. “And I’m here because my parents didn’t tell me they had a trip planned this weekend.”

“Wait,” Hajime starts, reaching out to run his hands down Tooru’s sides, “you’re home alone, too?”

He laughs, but his face betrays how embarrassed he really is. “I guess this weekend wasn’t so good for family bonding, huh?”

Hajime shrugs, tilting his chin up just enough to kiss Tooru once. “Not so bad though, I was starting to miss you.”

Tooru’s face blossoms with the brightest pink Hajime has ever seen, and he grins at the sight. “It’s only been five hours!”

“Yeah, and I was about to spend another forty eight hours without you…”

Tooru scoffs, pushing at Hajime to break their slight embrace. “It wasn’t going to be so bad… we’ll have to get used to it eventually anyway.”

Hajime’s grin drops, and the reasons for his wondering mind come back.

School work meant moving towards his future. And his future involved going to a different school than Tooru one day.

He’s brought back to his bedroom when Tooru touches his face. “You okay?”

“Tooru, if I can’t handle five hours without you, how am I supposed to handle months?” Hajime murmurs, grabbing Tooru’s wrist to rub at his exposed forearm, the TiMER warm to his touch on the wrist but clearly plastic compared to Tooru’s skin.

Tooru shakes his head, eyes softening as they switch focus between Hajime’s eyes. “That’s why we gotta get out of this honeymoon phase…”

Hajime shrugs, moving to scratch at his neck instead and allowing Tooru to drop his arm. “But won’t that happen naturally?”

“It’s been a month, Iwa-chan,” Tooru huffs, crossing his arms. “ _I_ wasn’t dying of agony without you. _I_ actually got my homework done!”

Hajime glares at him. “Liar.”

Tooru makes a weird choked off noise at the accusation, but doesn’t move to deny it and instead glares at the wall.

“You didn’t last five hours either, huh?” Hajime whispers, moving forward to grab Tooru closer to him. Tooru doesn’t meet his eyes, lip stuck out in a pout.

“What are we gonna do, Iwa-chan?”

“Suffer,” Hajime murmurs, moving closer to kiss Tooru’s lips, effectively removing the frown. “Don’t fight it, I guess…”

Tooru leaps forward, wrapping his arms around Hajime’s shoulders and deepening the kiss. Hajime doesn’t hesitate, moving his hands lower to grab Tooru where his thighs (firm, strong thighs) meet his butt (also firm, but just squishy enough to make touching it fun) and lifting him, carrying him to the bed.

Hajime feels on fire once again, and Tooru’s squirming under him before he feels his world flip. With Tooru on top of him, Hajime feels secure rather than suffocated, and for once he doesn’t feel up to fighting for control, letting Tooru move his mouth however he wants and responding to his cues. 

They have yet to progress past the removal of their shirts, or do any sort of… _heavy petting_ , but Hajime really doesn’t mind. If he can spend hours on end with Tooru and not lose his mind on the thought of sexual things, he knows he can make it the rest of his life and never grow bored.

Besides, it felt nice to know that the one he loves doesn’t only want him for sex like the rest of the world seems to think romantic relationships should be.

Tooru’s hard pressing touches and frantic movements on top of Hajime become slower, more relaxed as he gets out his urges, his fingers digging into Hajime’s chest before loosening their hold and moving to become like the touch of feathers. Hajime matches his speed, lessing the pressure of his grip in Tooru’s back and leg and switching to softer petting, almost light enough to not actually be grazing him.

They pull away from the kiss, their hands slowing to a stop while they stare at one another. Hajime feels a strong pressure in his pants, but it’s easy to ignore when Tooru is staring down at him with sparkling eyes and his fingers are ghosting into his hair. He lifts his head enough to peck a kiss to the corner of Tooru’s mouth, making his boyfriend softly laugh before collapsing back.

Tooru rolls, curling into Hajime’s side. Missing the warmth of Tooru above him, Hajime shifts, pulling Tooru up to cuddle into his side instead.

“Oh? Am I your pillow tonight?” Tooru murmurs, his fingers returning to Hajime’s scalp. Hajime hums at the touch, nudging his nose against Tooru’s chest in a mock nod. Tooru laughs again, and the sound is music against Hajime’s ear.

He flops his arm over Tooru’s stomach, pulling him a little closer to press his body completely against Tooru’s side. Tooru stifles a moan when he feels Hajime’s crotch, but he makes no movement to acknowledge it further. Close to his thigh, Hajime can feel Tooru’s own arousal, and chooses to ignore it as well.

They lay together in silence, Tooru’s fingers moving in circles around the roots of Hajime’s hair and relaxing him to a point that Hajime wants to close his eyes and drift away.

When Tooru starts to hum some tune, Hajime’s eyes slip closed, but he remains awake to listen to Tooru’s made up song, feeling the vibrations through his chest. All the excitement is beginning to drain from his body, but he can still feel a little heat below his stomach.

“We could live together, you know,” Tooru whispers, and Hajime’s eyes flutter open.

He grunts in return. “Yeah, I guess…”

Tooru laughs, “only guess, huh? Well then, nevermind.”

Hajime huffs, moving his arm to propel himself up and over Tooru, staring down at him. “I never considered it before - didn’t seem possible.”

Tooru smiles, and despite being in the shadow of Hajime’s body, his eyes shine with excitement. “Is that why you were so anxious about being apart?’

Hajime shrugs, flopping back to his side and pulling Tooru close again, pressing their foreheads together. “Weren’t you?”

Tooru clicks his tongue, eyes narrowing. “I should have guessed - come on Iwa-chan, do you really think I’d pass up the opportunity to live with my one true love?”

Hajime shrugs once more, kissing Tooru’s nose. “Don’t you already feel like we do?”

“Oh yeah, just two lovers living in two homes,” Tooru rolls his eyes, “where our families bust in unannounced at the worst of times.”

Hajime grows tense, moving to glance over his shoulder at his door. Tooru never closed it when he came in.

Tooru’s hand reaches around to make Hajime look at him. “Please don’t tell me your family is going to be home soon.”

“Not until tomorrow,” Hajime answers, and Tooru sighs in relief. “At least, that’s what mom said…”

Tooru’s eye twitches. “Hajime, I love your family, and Kaida-chan is the sweetest kid I know after Takeru, but your sister is also the biggest cock block I’ve ever met.”

Hajime groans, moving to bury his face in Tooru’s neck. “I know, I’m sorry…”

Laughing, Tooru grabs Hajime’s hair and yanks his head back. Hajime makes a noise of pain, but inwardly he fights back a groan - that did not help his erection from going away. “It’s not your fault your sister is so naive.”

“No, I don’t think she’s naive,” Hajime grumbles, closing his eyes to the apologetic petting Tooru administers to his head. “I think she knows what she’s doing when she busts in here, she is twelve after all.”

Tooru hums, “yeah, I guess so.”

He stares at Tooru then, watching him take in Hajime’s own appearance and moving to pet his hair in different places as he finds something else to rearrange. Tooru’s eyes drift over his face, and Hajime feels the tingle go down his spine - there is nothing Tooru’s eyes ever miss when they become this focussed, and with how blown his pupils are, Hajime feels the underlying tension there.

“God,” Tooru whispers, his voice thick in ways that makes Hajime swallow, “now is so absolutely perfect for us to take that final step and just… _go at it_ …” Hajime’s heart races at those words, the way Tooru’s voice breathes it out filling the air with a thick, heavy desire that Hajime isn’t sure if he’s sweating because of how hot his room is or because of how much he’s blushing. “And yet…” Hajime swallows again in anticipation, the build up of saliva making him wonder if Tooru’s aroused expression is actually making him drool. “I think I’d rather just lay here and look at you until I fall asleep…”

The fact that Hajime knows he’s not lying would make this entire tension just drain away and kill any arousal he may feel, but somehow his erection from earlier has returned, full blown and so painful, Hajime actually groans. Tooru’s eyes widen, his face burning red at the sound Hajime just made.

“Did you just…?”

“N-no,” Hajime admits, shaking a little. “But I will if you touch me again…”

Tooru chuckles, his own body beginning to shake. “Yeah, well after that noise, I might too if you decide to touch me.”

Hajime can almost picture it, so he bites down on his lip and presses his forehead against Tooru’s. “I don’t know why, but the fact that you’d rather look at me than have your way with me is so much hotter and I just…”

Tooru hushes him, but he doesn’t move to detangle their limbs, apparently not wanting to be the one to initiate any touching. “Should we just… get it over with?”

Hajime’s body feels like it’s completely engulfed in flames, hotter than he’s ever felt and he’s shaking from the pain of this arousal he can’t think straight. “What do you have in mind?”

Tooru doesn’t answer, instead he rolls to lay atop of Hajime’s body, and the second their arousals touch, Hajime sees stars and his body moves on it’s own. Tooru’s groaning above him, so Hajime surges forward to capture his mouth in a teeth clattering kiss, the shockwave of their movement sending jolts of pleasure throughout their bodies and Tooru moans into his mouth. Hajime’s certain he’s doing the same, can feel his throat vibrate but no sound is escaping the kiss to tell him for sure.

Clutching onto Tooru, he bucks upwards, and Tooru returns the thrust and immediately Hajime feels the release. Tooru’s body convulses, and he wonders if he came, too.

Tooru goes limp in his arms, moving to pant against Hajime’s neck, and Hajime feels comfort in the weight bearing down on him. However, the weight gets to be too much and Hajime pulls forth enough strength to switch Tooru to laying beside him. He doesn’t let Tooru roll completely away, moving to mix their heavy panting together so that he can look upon Tooru’s face.

Tooru’s arm flops up and he pats Hajime’s shoulder. “W-we’re definitely living together…”

Hajime grins. “Yeah, definitely.”


	3. Perfect Is What You Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first fight.

Tooru storms up the stairs, avoiding his parents eyes. He hears Hajime mumble an apology to his parents before following after, but Tooru doesn’t wait for him. He almost slams the door into Hajime’s face, but he catches it, pushing it open to follow Tooru into his room.

“You cannot seriously—”

“Yes I can!” Tooru snaps, stomping to his computer. He angrily clicks open a browser to distract himself, and behind him he hears Hajime sigh before shutting the door.

“Tooru, I didn’t mean to—”

“Of course not,” Tooru grinds out between his teeth, smashing the keyboard as he types. He’s not even really sure what he’s looking up at the moment. “Iwaizumi _never_ means to do the things that hurt me.”

Hajime groans, and the muffled way it comes out tells Tooru he’s holding his hands to his face. “Tooru, I just meant—”

“Meant what,” he finally gives up on whatever he’s looking up (maybe he was unconsciously looking up a funny video to try to calm down, judging by YouTube blinking back at him), and he stands to be at Hajime’s level. “That you hate the fact that the TiMER is what brought us together?!”

Hajime drops his hands to better glare at Tooru. “What? No! Tooru, I was just saying that it’s _not_ because of the TiMER that I fell in love with you!”

Tooru scoffs, crossing his arms. “You really think you would have fallen in love with me without it?”

“I don’t know, probably!” Hajime throws his hands up, exasperated beyond being able to stay calm. “I mean, would you have fallen in love with me without the TiMER?”

Tooru chooses to stay silent at that.

“Seriously?” Hajime hisses, and Tooru flinches at the hurt in his voice. “You only love me because some device says so?”

“Well… _no_ ,” Tooru pauses, trying to make his brain form some kind of reply. “But did you have to say it in front of my family?”

Hajime rolls his eyes, and apparently just the eyes weren’t enough because his whole head is rolling back too as he looks away. “I’m sorry that your overbearing family can’t handle the idea that the TiMER isn’t why people fall in love!”

“Of course they don’t think that!” Tooru feels desperate now, like as if he wants to defend his family and their belief in the TiMER but at the same time tell Hajime he loves him unconditionally. “We - you and - we just—”

Hajime snorts, shaking his head. “Tooru, just admit that you only fell in love with me because the TiMER said so,” his lips become thin as he bites his lips, but Hajime opens them again to continues, “because I’m already aware that your love for me wasn’t exactly genuine in the beginning.”

Tooru can feel the pain shoot through him, as though Hajime had actually shot at him. “What…?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Hajime grumbles, crossing his arms. “You were desperate to fall in love with after the TiMER went off, so you forced yourself to be all… _romantic_ and crap.”

Tooru huffs a hysterical laugh. “Ex _cuse_ me, Hajime, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t sleep for like three days because I was scared I did love you and it didn’t hit me until the fucking thing went off!”

Hajime doesn’t look convinced. “You seriously think I’m going to believe that?”

He groans, throwing his head back to silently scream to the ceiling. “That first day, you called me like a hundred times! And I ignored every single call because I was afraid that if I did love you, you’d reject me!”

“I wouldn’t have—”

“You did!” Tooru snaps, his eyes returning to Hajime. “Or don’t you remember?! You thought the idea of being with a man was so gross that you didn’t even consider us a possibility even after the TiMER basically screamed at us to get together!”

Hajime takes a deep breath and Tooru waits. When Hajime doesn’t say anything, Tooru nods.

“See, now you remember,” Tooru murmurs, shaking his head. “I was afraid that I had missed the signs of having fallen in love with you _prior_ to you getting it and because you hated the TiMER, I was even more scared you’d flat out reject me before I could even say anything.”

Still, Hajime doesn’t say anything.

“And now you’ve basically turned to my family and told them you don’t think the TiMER - the _one thing_ that my family all has faith in - is all that great and that it only caused problems between us!”

Hajime winces at that. “I wasn’t trying to say it caused problems, just that… I mean… I didn’t fall in love with you because of the TiMER, Tooru. I…” He avoids Tooru’s eyes, glancing about as though Tooru’s room would give him the answer to what he’s trying to say. “I fell in love with you, because you’re you…”

Tooru’s arms uncross, slowly falling to his sides. “But you wouldn’t have figured it out without the TiMER, Iwa-chan…”

“Again, we can’t know that for sure,” Hajime shrugs, finally looking back up. “In some other world without the TiMER, maybe we would have figured it out. Maybe sooner than we did here, or years later when we’d already married other people and had children… Hell, maybe we never realized we were meant to be until it was too late. The only thing the TiMER did was confirm what we already knew as kids.”

Hajime takes Tooru’s hand, and Tooru looks at their entwined fingers. “And what’s that?”

“That we were meant to be,” Hajime whispers, and Tooru stares into his eyes. “I’ve never once imagined a life without you in it. Every event I had ever dreamt of in my future, you were always there.”

Tooru feels the warmth spread through his chest, but a thought crosses his mind at that. He snorts, “even your honeymoon with your pretend wife?”

Hajime’s face grows blank, as though he’s actually thinking it over. “Actually—” Tooru busts out laughing, shoving at Hajime. “No no, I actually don’t think I ever thought about a honeymoon. I thought of my wedding, but because I didn’t know who I was marrying, I just kept thinking to myself ‘well, whoever it is, Tooru’s my best man so…’” Hajime shrugs.

Tooru chuckles, shaking his head. “So basically your hypothetical wedding involved me standing at the altar with you, but you didn’t know who the bride was?”

Hajime’s face flushes, and he lets go of Tooru’s hand to bury his face in his. “Oh my god…”

“You imagined our wedding but couldn’t figure out that you were marrying me instead of some girl,” Tooru laughs, and Hajime moans into his hands. “You are too much, Iwa-chan…”

Hajime pulls his hands away, his expression telling Tooru he is not amused by his laughter. “Well the same could be said for you, couldn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said that the TiMER going off made you go through something like… like an existential crisis where you couldn’t tell if you had been falling in love with me all along or if you had just become aware of your crush,” Hajime deadpans and Tooru feels his face heat.

“Well, yeah… no…” Tooru bites his lip and nods a little, “yeah, you’re right…”

Hajime’s face shifts to silently tell Tooru, “and you’re making fun of me?” and Tooru laughs a bit again. “So what really pissed you off? I mean, I know your family is a little… much about the TiMER, but I didn’t think you’d get so mad at me saying we didn’t fall in love because of it.”

Tooru sighs, reaching out to take Hajime’s hands. “I guess I just didn’t want them to think that I didn’t care about the TiMER…”

“What does it matter?” Hajime frowns at him, worry in eyes. “Tooru, your family puts way too many expectations on you. Do what you want to do, not what they want you to do.”

He nods along, but Tooru still bites at his lip.

“Tooru…?”

“Why don’t they accept me for me?” He murmurs, and Hajime moves closer, reading to hug him if he needs it. “I don’t want to be a doctor, that’s what Souta does, and I’m not very artistic so I can’t be creative like Hiroko…”

“So you’re athletic,” Hajime says as though it’s the most natural thing, “big deal. Just because your parents aren’t impressed with sports doesn’t mean they’re not proud of you for doing what you like.”

Tooru sighs again and he moves forward to rest his head against Hajime’s shoulder. “I just wish they didn’t bring up my siblings when I tell them my accomplishments…”

Hajime nods, reaching up to run his fingers through Tooru’s hair. “I know, that’s not fair of them.”

Tooru releases his hold on Hajime’s hands to wrap his arms around him, and Hajime follows his example. “I’m sorry I took my frustrations with them out on you…”

“It’s okay,” Hajime mumbles into his shoulder, “I’m used to your fits and worries of being imperfect.”

Tooru snorts, an odd mixture of a laugh and a cry he tried to hold back. “I love you - with or without the TiMER.”

“I love you, too.”


	4. Just Try

Hajime knows he’s over exaggerating, but it still upset him to hear Tooru say it. “Iwa-chan, wait!” He hears him call, but Hajime doesn’t stop, the snow crunching under his feet.

“I can’t believe you told him that!” Hajime calls back, and he hears Tooru approach him quickly. He slows down, ready to catch him in case Tooru slips in the snow because he’s being an idiot and running. “Kageyama is impressionable, now he’ll think - I can’t - _urrrg_!”

Tooru grabs his shoulder, stopping him from continuing down the road. “I’m so confused, what did I say wrong?”

Hajime shoves his hand off, glaring at him. “Tooru, you just told Kageyama that if he does turn out to be Hinata’s soulmate next week, then he’ll have,” he scrunches his nose, preparing to imitate Tooru’s fake cheerful tone, “ _nothing to worry about_!”

Tooru shrugs, his expression confused. “And? He won’t - if shrimpy-chan and he are soulmates then they’re going to be fine.”

He groans, burying his face in his hands. “That’s not how it works!”

Scoffing, Tooru waves his hand. “And how is it not? Iwa-chan, we have no problems as soulmates!”

“But it didn’t start that way!” Hajime shouts, reaching to shake Tooru by his shoulders. “There were so many issues with communication - _us_!” He gestures between them, “ _we did_ , who have perfect trust and understanding between us, lost it because of the TiMER shaking things up!”

Tooru frowns, “but we found it again, didn’t we?”

“Because we tried!” Hajime’s voice cracks, his emotions spilling out. “You just told Kageyama he won’t need to worry like as if it’s a walk in the park to find your soulmate. It’s like,” Hajime’s hands are thrown about now, like as if moving them will help him talk, “like telling someone you don’t need to try after the TiMER goes off.”

“Try what?” Tooru’s head dips the side in confusion, “this is a relationship, not a trial and error, temporary gig.”

Hajime sighs, smacking his forehead. “Tooru, I meant that we don’t just sit around and expect that we still love each other.” He takes Tooru’s hand, the mittens he’d loaned him making it impossible to lace their fingers together. “To make this work the way we both want it to, we still do stuff for each other, and communicate our likes and dislikes as we discover them, right?”

Tooru’s face brightens, as though he’d forgotten. “Oh…! So by telling Tobio-chan there’s nothing to be done after the TiMER goes off…”

Hajime gestures harshly, his face screaming “Bingo!” and making Tooru go a little pale. “If Kageyama and Hinata are soulmates, they’re going to have a rude awakening when Kageyama thinks he just has to sit around and not do anything.”

Tooru moans, his shoulders drooping a little. “Should I try to find Tobio-chan again and tell him I was wrong?”

“I don’t know, he kind of ran off in a hurry,” Hajime hums, licking at his drying lips. “I hope he didn’t slip and fall,” Tooru snickers and he punches him lightly in the shoulder, “stop that, it’s not funny.”

Standing straighter, Tooru pulls out his phone, removing his hand from Hajime’s to bite the mitten off and use his bare hand properly on the touch screen. “Mmafee Shwamuwa cam ‘elp,” he manages around the mitten, and Hajime narrows his eyes at the childish antic. It didn’t matter though, he knew what Tooru was trying to say from years of listening to him mumble around milk bread - “maybe Sawamura can help.”

“Since when do you have Sawamura’s number?”

“Jealous?” Tooru chuckles, taking the mitten out to stuff into his pocket, sputtering on the fibers that were stuck in his teeth. When Hajime just rolls his eyes, Tooru frowns and returns to his phone. “When we ran into him at the mall last week.”

Hajime’s eyebrow raises in question, “I don’t remember you asking for his number.”

“You were getting our food, and he seemed so down,” Tooru whistles a little, typing something out. “Maybe he can help Tobio-chan like the good senpai he is and explain how wrong I was.”

Hajime sighs, reaching forward to pull Tooru to his side. “You’re a good senpai, too - you’re just a little over competetive.”

Tooru snorts, peeking under his lashes as though he’s unimpressed before returning to his phone. “Name one underclassmen I’ve ever helped, Iwa-chan…”

“Kindaichi,” Hajime says easily, pausing to consider something, “Kunimi… Watari, Yahaba - hell, even Kyoutani the other day.”

Tooru hesitates, clicking his phone locked as he considers it. “Okay, I… I _guess_ I helped them…”

“And apparently Kageyama,” Hajime continues on, “he was talking like as if your advice earlier this year helped him with something.”

“I don’t even remember what I said or what it was about,” Tooru groans, moving to continue down the road and wrapping his own arm around Hajime’s shoulders. “I think we were sort of dating at that time and I was trying to leave to get to you.”

Hajime laughs, pinching Tooru’s side. “You’re ridiculous.”

They walk together, steps in sync and sides glued together for a while, watching the snow start to grow heavier as it comes down around them. Tooru reaches out to catch a snowflake with his still mittened hand, and smiles at the way it glistens in the street lights. “Do I actually try with you, Hajime?” He whispers, smile faltering on his words.

Hajime glances out of the corner of his eyes, watching Tooru as snow falls into his hair and on his long lashes. “Yeah, of course you do - you’re not stupid, Tooru, you know relationships aren’t all magic and perfect.”

“But like,” Tooru continues, dropping his hand when snow begins to pile, “do I seem like I care? We’ve been arguing a lot lately and… I don’t know, I guess I just expect us to work through it.”

“We may be arguing, but we always get through it,” Hajime answers, “because we talk it out. If you just sat around and didn’t ask me what you did wrong when I’m upset or if you didn’t acknowledge me when I asked you the same if you’re upset, then you wouldn’t be trying. Right?”

Tooru shrugs, and Hajime pulls him around to stop in front of him, their fluffy coats squished between them at the stomach. “Iwa-chan, if I’m ever not trying—”

“You’ll always try, Tooru,” he murmurs, leaning over to kiss the tip of Tooru’s nose, making it slightly more pink. “I don’t think there’s ever been a moment where I felt unappreciated since we got together.”

Tooru’s face fully becomes pink, and he can’t hold back his smile. “Still, please tell me if I get lazy about us and stop trying.”

Hajime kisses him lightly, watching the snow build up on Tooru’s lashes. “I’ll always kick your butt into gear, stupid.” Tooru laughs, reaching up to pull Hajime’s face to his and smushing their chapped lips together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty sure the next two will actually be long, I just wanted them to kiss in the snow :P


	5. To Become One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas Eve and Tooru and Hajime are spending it together like they do every year - only now, they're actually dating.

**Group Chat**  
_Makki_  
[12:02] it’s just so manly to be fucking another dude  
_Mattsun_  
[12:02] definitely, i feel you there

What the fuck?

**Group Chat**  
_Iwa-chan❤_  
[12:04] What the fuck?  
_Makki_  
[12:04] what?  
_Mattsun_  
[12:04] you don’t agree?  
_Iwa-chan❤_  
[12:05] I just… where did this come from?  
[12:06] How would you two know that?

Tooru hums in thought, his face getting warm. It’s not like he and Hajime really know that feeling yet either, since neither of them really felt ready to take the next step.

**Group Chat**  
_Iwa-chan❤_  
[12:08] What does that even mean?  
_Mattsun_  
[12:10] calm down, iwaizumi, we’re mostly joking  
_Makki_  
[12:10] lol mostly  
_me_  
[12:11] （・□・；）are you two doing it?  
_Makki_  
[12:12] are you 2?  
_me_  
[12:15] (*ﾉ∀`*) Iwa-chan and I don’t kiss and tell!  
_Iwa-chan❤_  
[12:15] No  
_me_  
[12:16] Σ(゜ロ゜;) IWA-CHAN!  
_Iwa-chan❤_  
[12:17] What? We agreed, we’re not jumping into this

Tooru pouts, watching the texts roll in from Matsukawa and Hanamaki. They’re clearly laughing at Hajime and him, but Tooru doesn’t feel ashamed. Hajime is right, they both agreed that they have the rest of their lives ahead of them to be having sex, why jump in now?

Still, it’s weird for their friends to be jumping to conclusions like this and asking them about what it’s like to be with another man. Or rather, it’s just plain weird for the two to suggest they’ve been doing it. Tooru purses his lips and narrows his eyes at their texts, watching the shitshow of Hajime trying to get the two to stop spamming their phones with more lewd comments.

He can’t be upset if Matsukawa and Hanamaki are doing things together - he dated a few girls before Hajime after all, and Matsukawa has until March or April to be a single man before his TiMER goes off. December is coming to a close and if he wants to act on any attraction he has for Hanamaki, then he can.

Hanamaki has a few more years himself, and it’s pretty boring to wait around for someone who might decide it’s not worth it.

Tooru clicks his phone off, putting it down on the coffee table when Takeru bounces into the seat next to him. He smiles down at his nephew, ready to hear whatever stories he has when Hiroko pokes her head into the room.

“It’s Christmas Eve, aren’t you going out with Hajime today?” She asks, raising a brow in question.

“It’s barely noon,” Tooru protests, “and I wanna see my nephew for a little bit before Hajime comes!”

She rolls her eyes, “well, I’m in charge of Takeru today, so go see your boyfriend.” Tooru pouts and Hiroko swats at him, “go!”

Groaning dramatically, Tooru stands from the couch, patting Takeru’s head. Grabbing his phone, Tooru hurries up the stairs to find the present he got for Hajime. He licks his lips, staring down at the small box and wondering if it’s good enough. Tooru shakes his head, pocketing the present before grabbing his coat - it shouldn’t matter what he got Hajime, it’s the thought that counts and he’s always gotten him a Christmas present.

As Tooru hurries down the stairs, he thinks back to past Christmases. Sure, it’s not a holiday in Japan, but he always enjoyed the lights and the exchanging of presents, and he sure as hell thought it was a beautiful day to spend with someone special. He just hadn’t realized that he had been spending the day usually shared by couples with Hajime this whole time, looking at the Christmas lights and exchanging presents.

Shoving his boots on, Tooru’s face grows warm again. They really did act like a couple before they even became one, didn’t they?

Sighing, Tooru stands again, looking back to see Takeru watching him. “I’ll see you later, Takeru!”

“Tell Hajime I said hi,” Takeru responds, and Tooru’s shoulders slump. He always liked Hajime more… “See you later, Uncle Tooru!”

He perks back up, grinning back and waving as he heads out the front door.

It’s not as snowy as it had been, but there’s plenty of slush on the sidewalks. Tooru whistles to himself, hands shoved into his coat pockets and his left hand fingers the present. He can’t hold back his grin, certain he’d made the right choice in his present.

Hajime is outside shoveling the snowy slush from the path in front of his home, Kaida rolling around nearby in the yard, making snow angels. He’s laughing at her, the beanie Tooru gave him on the head of a snowman nearby. Tooru smiles at the sight, wondering if Hajime is looking after Kaida today.

“You know, the hat was for you, not a snow person,” Tooru calls out as he approaches, and Kaida jumps from her snow pile, ready to tackle him. Hajime grabs her before she can, and Tooru smiles down at her. “You’re all wet, Kaida-chan!”

She huffs, crossing her arms. “Hajime-nii said I could play in the snow…”

Hajime sighs, “yeah, and I also said to not attack people when you’re soaking wet like that.”

Tooru feels warmth in his chest when Kaida begins to complain to Hajime, the two of them adorable when bickering. He glances to the front yard of the Iwaizumi household and notes that Kaida had been playing for sometime, whereas the snow on their path has been barely shoveled.

“Do you need help shoveling?” He asks, stopping the rising argument between siblings. Hajime frowns at him.

“I’m not making you shovel my sidewalk,” Hajime turns away to continue the task, “not on Christmas Eve.”

Kaida grabs Tooru’s hand then, “you can help me build another snowman!”

Tooru shivers at how cold her hands are. “I think you need to warm up, Kaida-chan.”

She pouts, “please, Tooru-nii?”

He shakes his head, shifting his hold on her hand. “You’re too cold right now, we need to get you dried off and warmed up.”  
He waves to Hajime who nods back before leading Kaida back into her home. She stands stiff in the entryway, not helping when Tooru tries to pull her boots and coat off. Eventually, he gets her out of her winter gear and peels his own jacket and boots off, standing to lead her into the kitchen.

Hajime’s mother smiles up at him, “Merry Christmas Eve, Tooru.”

“Merry Christmas,” he replies, smiling, “Kaida-chan needs something warm and maybe a towel. She’s all wet from making snow angels.”

The little girl in question crosses her arms again, “I’m not a baby, I’ll be fine!”

Her mother laughs, moving to make her daughter a warm drink. “Go get cleaned up, Kaida, I’ll have hot chocolate ready soon.

Kaida perks up at the words ‘hot chocolate,’ hurrying out of the room to do as she’s told. Tooru chuckles, leaning against the counter.

“So, what are you and Hajime doing today, Tooru?” Iwaizumi-san asks, smiling at him. Tooru shrugs, grinning back. “Ah, I see - just your usual walk through the town?”

Tooru nods, “probably; I hope he likes his present.”

She laughs, “I’m sure he will, sweetheart.” Her eyes shine with mischief then, “I’m also certain you’ll like yours.”

Tooru blushes, wondering what it could be. “I—”

“Mama, don’t say weird things,” Hajime calls from the entryway, kicking off his boots. Tooru turns to watch him enter, smiling awkwardly. “I mean, I hope you’ll like it…” Hajime scratches his neck, cheeks becoming slightly pink.

Tooru grins, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “I’m sure I will.”

Iwaizumi-san laughs, gaining their attention. “I don’t think either of you noticed, did you?”

They glances back to one another in confusion before Tooru looks up and laughs. Hajime groans, “what even is the point of mistletoe?”

“Who knows,” Tooru laughs, pulling Hajime into a soft kiss, “Europeans are weird.”

Hajime frowns at him, “pretty sure there’s some story behind that…” He looks to his mother now, “mama, we don’t celebrate Christmas, why did you decorate so much?”

Tooru looks through the archway into the living room and laughs at the sight of the Christmas tree. Iwaizumi-san puts her hands on her hips, giving her son a cross look. “Because it looks nice, that’s why!”

“It really does,” Tooru agrees, grinning at her. “You did a wonderful job, Iwaizumi-san!”

“It’s not as fancy as Americans like to make it,” she chuckles, shaking her head, “but it’s still rather pretty.”

“I like it,” Kaida declares, bouncing into the room in dry clothes. “Christmas is a pretty holiday.”

Hajime sighs, rolling his eyes. “Christmas isn’t a holiday in Japan, Kaida…”

His mother laughs, “you have a tradition to uphold, boys! Now go, shoo!” She waves her hands at them, gesturing them out of her kitchen. “Go spend the day together!”

Hajime doesn’t wait for her to say it again, pulling Tooru back to put their winter gear back on. Tooru grins at him, hurrying to shove his feet into his boots before Hajime can do the same. Hajime smiles back, standing straight faster than him. He holds the door open for Tooru, shrugging his coat on as they leave the house.

Tooru takes his hand, lacing their fingers together. “Merry Christmas Eve, Hajime.”

“Yeah yeah, same to you,” Hajime grumbles, but his mouth is smiling all the same. He squeezes Tooru’s hand, and Tooru swings their hands between them as they walk down the road to the train station.

They spend the afternoon together, the decorations in town large and beautiful. It wasn’t dark enough for the lights to come on yet, but Tooru knew it’d be twice as beautiful when night came.

Hajime pays for their lunch, and Tooru promises to pay for dinner if they find a place to eat later. Hajime agrees, pulling Tooru to the ice rink to go skating. He laughs, watching Hajime skate ahead of him, his own legs uncertain but he remains upright. Hajime skates backwards, facing Tooru and holding his hands between them. Tooru’s cheeks hurt from all the smiling he’s been doing, laughing when Hajime steadies him before he falls.

After Tooru nearly falls again, they leave the rink and continue walking around town, Tooru purchasing a Santa hat and placing it on Hajime’s head. “Since you gave the other one to a snowman.”

Hajime laughs mockingly, “Kaida wanted the snowman to have a hat and I couldn’t let her barge into the house all wet.”

Tooru chuckles, taking Hajime’s hand again. “So, about the texts Makki and Mattsun sent…”

“Sorry about that,” Hajime’s face grows red, the pink from the cold making his blush worse. “They’ve been a little… pushy about us doing it.”

Tooru frowns, “wait, what?”

Hajime sighs, looking to his feet. “I might have told them that we’re taking things slow and they said we’ve basically been together this whole time, so why wait?”

“I mean, they’re not wrong,” Tooru muses, making Hajime jerk back in surprise. “But I still stand by what we said.”

Hajime relaxes again, “oh… good, I’m glad.”

They’re silent, and for once it’s not comforting. Tooru pulls them to a stop, “Hajime, do you—”

“Oikawa-senpai? Iwaizumi-senpai?”

They blink at one another, turning around. Yahaba and Kyoutani stood just behind them, Yahaba’s arm looped in Kyoutani’s. Shifting his eyes to the side, it’s clear to Tooru that they’d just come from the store he and Hajime had just passed, but he hadn’t seen them before now.

“Hey Yahaba, Kyoutani,” Hajime greets easily, earning a nod in greeting from Kyoutani.

Tooru smirks, “are you two on a date?”

Yahaba’s face burns and he glances to Kyoutani, who’s avoiding Tooru’s eyes. “Uh… yeah, are you?”

“Of course,” Tooru cheers, grabbing Hajime’s arm to press closer. “Iwa-chan and I always go out on Christmas Eve together - only this is the first time as a couple.”

Yahaba doesn’t look convinced, “are you sure you don’t mean this is the first time you realized you’ve been dating this whole time?”

Tooru’s face drops and he narrows his eyes on Yahaba. “You’re being very mean to your senpai, Yahaba-chan.”

“Don’t call me that,” Yahaba monotones, and Kyoutani shoots him a weird look. “And it’s not mean if it’s the truth.”

“Okay hold on,” Hajime says, putting up a hand to stop either setter from speaking again. Tooru frowns at him, waiting for him to continue. “This isn’t some weird competition, and… I mean, yeah, Oikawa and I have basically been dating since we were six—”

“The fuck?” Kyoutani mutters, glaring at them as though he were saying “how are you so stupid?”

“—but this ongoing joke about us really needs to stop,” Hajime sighs, dropping his hand. “We’re dating, we’re in love, everything is right in the world, now please stop mocking us.”

Yahaba’s face shifts from mocking to concerned, “sorry, Iwaizumi-senpai, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s fine, Yahaba,” Hajime replies before looking to Tooru, “and you need to stop picking fights with underclassmen.”

Tooru gawks, “I am not picking fights!”

Hajime rolls his eyes, “whatever.”

They separate from the other two, Tooru telling them to enjoy their date (and earning a very red eared Kyoutani at that) swinging their hands between them. “That was kind of nice actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“To know those two are actually together,” Tooru hums in thought, “it was so hard to tell during the training camp what was going on there.”

Hajime grunts in reply, and Tooru wonders if he’s thinking back on it too. He hadn’t been at the training camp himself, but surely Hajime had noticed something odd around that time too.

They’re silent again, but this time it’s filled with music from the speakers around them, and with the sun setting, Tooru pokes Hajime and points to the large tree in the center of it all. People around them stop as well, watching the lights flicker on and shine out from the large Christmas tree like a beacon of happiness.

Tooru leans into Hajime, resting his head on his shoulder. “It’s so pretty,” he murmurs.

“It’s the same every year,” Hajime says back and Tooru pinches him. “Okay fine, it’s pretty.”

Tooru stands straight, narrowing his eyes on him. “Why are you being so grumpy? You used to love looking at the lights with me - what’s so different now?”

Hajime frowns, huffing a breath and looking up. Tooru waits for his answer, but Hajime pulls him closer and kisses him sweetly.

It’s a deeper kiss than he’s ever gotten from Hajime in public, that’s for sure. He can hear some people who have noticed them whistling in response, and Tooru’s face burns in embarrassment. When Hajime breaks the kiss, he points up to the rather large mistletoe above them.

Tooru blinks up at it, sending his confused expression to Hajime instead. “That didn’t answer my question.”

“Makki and Mattsun got to me,” he mumbles, leaning forward to pressed their foreheads together. “It’s been bugging me…”

Tooru frowns, reaching up to rub circles on Hajime’s cold, pink cheeks with his thumbs. “It’s okay to want to, I mean, I do too.”

“But we agreed, we’re not ready yet,” Hajime grumbles, his eyes shifting to meet Tooru’s again. “Right?”

He hesitates, biting at his lip. On the one hand, he doesn’t want to pressure Hajime, but on the other…

Tooru isn’t sure he’s going to be able to hold back anymore.

“I’m ready if you are, Hajime,” he whispers, and Hajime’s pupils dilate.

“Yes,” Hajime whispers back, kissing him again, and before he knows it, Hajime is pulling him out of town.

Tooru doesn’t even remember riding the train or getting back to their neighborhood before Hajime pauses.

“Shit, who’s home at your house?” He turns to Tooru, and he feels his face burn.

“Wait, we’re doing this now?”

“Why not?” Hajime shrugs, nodding to Tooru again, “now who’s home?”

He thinks about it, “probably Hiroko and Takeru - my parents are at a party in Tokyo until tomorrow and Souta had plans with Chiyo.”

Hajime sighs, glancing to his own home within sight. “My mom’s going to be home with Kaida if we go there…”

Tooru bites his lip, “then, should we wait?”

Before Hajime can answer, Tooru’s phone rings. He pulls it out, seeing Hiroko’s caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Hey, I have to go back to my apartment,” she says from the other end, “something happened with my roommate and Souta said he’s cool with me taking Takeru, so the house is yours tonight.”

Tooru gapes at his phone, choking on his words. “Wait, Hiroko—”

“Later,” and she hands up. Tooru stares at his phone, feeling numb.

That was oddly perfect timing, but Tooru feels nervous at how absolutely perfect this really is.

Hajime shifts into his line of sight, “uh, what was that?”

Tooru takes a deep breath, “I’m home alone tonight.”

They stare at one another, neither moving for fear that this isn’t real. When Tooru feels a snowflake land on his cheek, he blinks and Hajime’s face suddenly splits into a grin.

“So what are we waiting for?” He asks, taking Tooru’s hand again. Tooru can feel a goofy grin take over his face at that and then Hajime is pulling him down the road at a run.

They nearly slip on the snow and slush, and a few patches of black ice, but Tooru laughs with Hajime, catching each other and pulling one another along in a hurry to make it back home. His house is dark save for the porch light when they get there, and Tooru fishes for his keys, his nerves and the cold causing him to shake. Hajime reaches out, helping him put the key into the lock and together they open the door.

The Oikawa household is dead silent, and Tooru feels his nerves take over when the door shuts behind them. Hajime flips on the entryway light, hesitating before he pulls his boots and coat off. Tooru follows suit, unable to meet Hajime’s gaze. He makes sure to take and place his present in his pants pocket, wondering when would be a good time to give it to Hajime.

Maybe he wasn’t ready - he feels ready the rest of the time, but right now, he’s not sure.

Hajime takes his hand once he’s hung his coat up, and Tooru follows him up the stairs.

“We can stop if you realize you aren’t ready,” Hajime murmurs, walking up the stairs slowly so he can look back at Tooru.

Tooru nods, biting his lip. “Same goes for you.”

He follows Hajime into his bedroom, and he closes the door behind himself, just in case someone suddenly comes home. Tooru’s sure no one is though, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.

Hajime flips on the light, gently pulling Tooru to the middle of his room. “Should we just… go about this as usual?”

Tooru’s face is on fire, “Hajime, I don’t think we should talk about it and just… do it.”

Hajime’s own face is becoming red now. “Well, I mean, we can’t just jump into this. I’m pretty sure we have to have some discussion, Tooru.”

He groans, squatting down to hide his face in his arms. “I don’t think we can do this.”

“Tooru, no, don’t—” Hajime’s kneeling in front of him now, trying to pry his arms away, “come on, this is just like every other time we’ve made out!”

“Except it’s so much more!” Tooru moans, peeking out from under his hands. “This is so awkward and embarrassing!”

Hajime sighs, “if it wasn’t, I’d be worried that you’ve done this before when you said you haven’t.”

Tooru lets his hands fall, “what?”

“Tooru, all first times are supposed to be awkward and weird,” Hajime sits down, his hand on Tooru’s knee. “If we went into this like we knew exactly what we were doing, all… suave and perfect, it wouldn’t… it wouldn’t be who we are.”

He stares at Hajime, the heat in his face slowly dissipating. “Then… maybe we should ease into it.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Hajime smiles at him, his cheeks still pink but Tooru think it might be from the cold still.

He reaches into his pocket where the present is and holds it out to Hajime. “Merry Christmas…”

Hajime blinks once, surprise on his face. “Oh… I almost forgot,” he reaches into his sweater pocket, pulling out a small box as well, “Merry Christmas, Tooru.”

They trade their presents, and Tooru smiles down at the little gift. “On three - one…”

“Two…”

“Three!” They both call, taking the ribbons away and opening their presents.

Tooru gapes at what he sees.

“T-Tooru,” Hajime stutters, and Tooru turns his gaze up to him, “are these…?”

He beams, “yeah! Sorry, I kind of stole yours, but I had to get them fixed.”

Hajime pulls from his present their clover charms, only now they hang from two new chains and the color shines brighter than before. Tooru’s grin widens, watching Hajime look closer. Tooru had taken them into an etching store after getting them cleaned, and on the surface of each green clover is their names - one with Hajime, and one with Tooru.

He drops the box, looking up at Tooru, “you sentimental piece of shit,” before reaching out, putting the Hajime clover around Tooru’s neck. Tooru sets down his present and helps him put the Tooru clover on as well.

Hajime pauses, looking to the present he gave Tooru. “Do you… like it?”

Tooru slowly looks back to the box, picking it up again to look in at the matching silver bands.

“Hajime, are you…” he takes in a shaking breath, “are you proposing?”

Hajime coughs, “not… not exactly?”

“What is this then?” Tooru looks back up at him, looking between Hajime’s eyes to see if the answer is there.

“I guess they’re… promise rings?”

Tooru laughs, but it’s soft and sweet, “and what are we promising?”

Hajime takes out one of the rings, grabbing Tooru’s hand and slipping it on - it’s nearly perfect, spinning a little when it’s on but Tooru has a feeling it won’t slip off. “That we’ll always do whatever we can to keep the other happy.”

“Of course,” Tooru murmurs, grabbing the other ring to place it on Hajime’s finger. He gazes at the rings on their hands, smiling at the sight before reaching up, pulling Hajime into a kiss.

They don’t pull away, Hajime sitting up on his knees to get leverage, pushing down to deepen the kiss. Tooru opens his mouth, humming happily at the feeling of Hajime’s mouth on his.

Hajime pulls them to stand up, wrapping his arms around Tooru and pulling him closer, shifting their mouths for better access. Tooru reaches up, grabbing at Hajime’s hair when he feels Hajime move to walk him to the bed. They fall onto it, breaking only a second from their kiss to readjust themselves more comfortably.

Tooru pulls Hajime back down to kiss him again when he sees they’re both on the bed completely, and Hajime smiles into the kiss. Tooru begins to smile as well, gasping when Hajime took that as an opportunity to shove his tongue into his mouth, rubbing it against Tooru’s.

He moans at the feeling, raking his fingers down Hajime’s shoulders and holding onto his arms. Hajime tilts his head, deepening the kiss further and Tooru shivers, looping his arms under Hajime’s to grab at his back. His fingers curl into Hajime’s hoodie, pulling at it and squirming under him.

Hajime’s teeth pull on his bottom lip before he breaks away, letting Tooru pull his hoodie off, the shirt he had underneath coming away as well. Tooru stares up at him, watching the Tooru clover bounce back against Hajime’s skin. He grins at the sight of his name resting against Hajime’s skin, sitting up to roll Hajime over, sitting on top of him. Hajime chuckles, eyes shining in the light before Tooru leans down, kissing and biting at Hajime’s lips.

Hajime’s grabbing at his shirt now, and Tooru laughs into their kiss, pulling away to let Hajime tug it off of him. The cold metal of his Hajime clover hits his heated skin, and Hajime’s eyes watch the necklace for a moment before he pulls Tooru back down. Through the chain on his neck, Tooru feels it clank against Hajime’s necklace as they kiss, and he fights against the smile that threatens to break their kiss.

It breaks anyway because Hajime is laughing, and Tooru pouts down at him in annoyance. He can’t help it though, and Tooru crumbles into laugher as well, falling against Hajime and pressing his snickering mouth into the crook of his neck.

“I like it when you laugh,” Hajime breathes, his hands roaming Tooru’s back. His feather light touches sends tingles through his body and Tooru giggles at the feeling. “It’s even better when we’re kissing.”

Tooru pulls his head away, raising a brow in amusement. “Oh? And why is that?”

“If you can’t laugh with your partner, what’s the point of being together,” Hajime answers simply, and Tooru’s face flushes at the thought.

“So we’re just going to laugh our way through our first time?”

“Makes it a lot less embarrassing I think,” Hajime whispers, pecking Tooru’s lips before dropping back down into the pillow.

Tooru hums in thought, smirking before he latches his lips onto Hajime’s neck. Hajime’s body jumps in surprise before he begins to moan, Tooru’s mouth gliding around the sensitive skin, peppering kisses down Hajime’s chest.

“ _Shit_ ,” Hajime groans softly, his fingers burying themselves into Tooru’s hair. Tooru grins, sucking a mark on Hajime’s chest. He peeks over at his nipples, but Tooru isn’t sure if that will do anything for Hajime, so he moves along, kissing down his abdomen. “ _Tooru_ …”

“Yes~?” Tooru singsongs, kissing along Hajime’s muscles, his fingers moving to the button of his jeans.

“W-wait,” Hajime manages, reaching down and pulling Tooru back up his body. Tooru’s about to ask why he stopped him, but Hajime kisses him, pulling on his lip again. Tooru shivers before he’s flipped over, and Hajime begins to administer the same treatment to Tooru’s neck and chest.

Tooru feels his body jump and begin to tremble at the feeling of Hajime’s tongue on his skin, and he bites his lip to keep from moaning too loudly. His body jerks in surprise before a fully body shiver takes over when Hajime latches onto his nipple, and Tooru gasps at the feeling. He had no idea his were sensitive - now he wonders if Hajime would have reacted as well.

Hajime’s mouth pulls away with a pop and Tooru’s body collapses into the bed, still shivering. “Whoa, that…”

“ _Sh-shut up_ ,” Tooru snaps, embarrassed, “don’t comment!”

Hajime nods, licking his lips before continuing on. Tooru’s chest is as hot as his face and he wonders if his blush took over his chest, too. Hajime’s fingers are grazing his sides now as he kisses down Tooru’s stomach, and Tooru can’t keep himself from raising his lower body in response.

He’s panting when he feels Hajime’s hands unbuttoning his pants, and Tooru’s mind doesn’t catch up until Hajime is pulling them down his legs. Snapping back to reality, Tooru sits up, looking down at his body - his underwear is all that’s left.

Tooru gulps, looking back to Hajime’s face. Hajime’s staring, and while his eyes are dark with desire, it’s clear he’s not amused. “These are the ugliest pair of boxers I’ve ever seen…”

He swats at him, making Hajime laugh, “shut up! I didn’t know we’d be doing this!” Tooru pouts, making Hajime laugh more. “I bet yours has Godzilla on them!”

“Yeah, it does,” Hajime chuckles, grinning without shame. “At least it’s not aliens.”

Tooru narrows his eyes. “I’m not arguing with you about Godzilla versus aliens when we’re about to have sex, you giant nerd.”

Hajime holds his hands up in surrender, “fair play - want to take my pants off now?”

“Uh, _yeah_ ,” Tooru snaps, reaching out to do just that. Hajime watches, his face far too soft and fond looking for someone who’s about to have sex, but Tooru likes the way he looks. When he starts to pull down on Hajime’s jeans, Hajime shifts forward, kicking them away.

Tooru stares as he mumbles, “it really is Godzilla.” He hears Hajime say something about not lying, but he’s distracted by the bulge growing behind Godzilla’s image.

“Tooru?”

Slowly his gaze moves up Hajime’s body, roving over his musculature, the little bite marks he left behind, the Tooru charm around his neck, until he finally reaches Hajime’s face. “I love you,” he whispers, and Hajime’s eyes shine in excitement.

“I love you, too,” Hajime says back, leaning down to kiss him again. Tooru reaches around, pulling Hajime down before laying back himself, bringing their chests together and feeling his warmth bear down on him.

They don’t talk again, eyes searching one another and silently asking questions when they move to touch one another in ways they never have before. Sometimes one will chuckle, which causes a brief laughing fit until one of them resumes kissing again, but mostly they’re moaning into one another’s mouths, kissing and sucking along any surface of skin they can reach. Tooru doesn’t even remember removing their silly underwear, but he remembers when he first feels Hajime press against him - the feeling of their entirely naked skin coming together for the first time.

He trembles at the feeling, the friction amazing, and Hajime’s body is quivering above him from the contact. Their mouths meet when they begin to move, muffled moans swallowed up when pleasure takes over all their senses.

They pause to cause their breath after the first climax, and Tooru reaches up to touch Hajime’s face. Hajime lays beside him, their bodies pressed together, not as needy as before, but more comfortable and lazy. They stare at one another, reaching out to feel on another while they come down from the pleasurable high.

Tooru’s not sure when their stamina rejuvenates, but he remembers Hajime reaching for what they’ll need, silently asking Tooru if he’s ready or if he’d rather do it. Tooru nods to Hajime, and Hajime reaches down to begin their second round. It’s uncomfortable, but Tooru doesn’t rush him, nodding when he feels ready for the real deal.

It’s amazing - slightly uncomfortable feeling, but it builds up with pleasure the slower Hajime goes. Tooru groans, fingers digging into Hajime’s back and a whispered word of _faster_ the only thing said between them aside from their names when they come again.

He’s not sure they lasted for very long, but a glance at the time tells him they’d been at it for a while when Hajime finally lays back down next to him, and Tooru’s heart rate slows down. He rolls to press against Hajime, and the mess on his stomach feels gross when it sticks him to Hajime. Hajime watches him, not seeming to mind, before kissing Tooru’s forehead.

“Do you want to shower?” Hajime asks, his hand playing with Tooru’s hair.

Tooru’s cheek presses into Hajime’s chest as he thinks about it. “When we do it again, can I…?”

“Yeah,” Hajime murmurs, kissing him again. “We’ll figure out a system or something, but next time is your turn.” Tooru pushes himself up, his body feeling heavy and ready to sleep, but he forces himself to sit above Hajime so he can kiss him properly. “I love you, Tooru.”

“I know,” Tooru chuckles, “I love you, too.”


	6. Not Ready For Goodbye

Hajime hefts the box up onto the dresser and steps back to check his work. Three boxes finished and he thinks he’s done pretty well for himself in one day’s work. He cringes though when he turns to look at his room and sees the mess he’s made trying to decide what he wants to have with him when he moves to Tokyo with Tooru.

The two of them would be leaving for Tokyo in a few weeks and Hajime’s mother told him he needed to start packing now. He didn’t complain though, and he feels very excited at the prospect of sharing an apartment with Tooru soon enough. While university also comes with the move, Hajime wasn’t too worried about his future classes or that they’d be going to two different schools - he had Tooru all to himself in their apartment, after all.

It just came to a matter of what exactly Hajime should bring with him to Tokyo. While he’d already set aside daily necessities to be packed when the move arrives, other things he would want to take with him were getting harder to decide on.

He frowns at the mess and carefully steps over a pile of junk he means to throw away. Hajime isn’t sure how he ended up having so many useless things in the time he’s been alive, but he figures now is a good time to start throwing things away.

Besides, he doesn’t have to take his whole room - his parents were getting him a new dresser for the apartment to share with Tooru, while Tooru’s parents were getting them a new bed. Hajime’s face splits into a goofy grin; no one discussed the fact that there would be one bed and pretended like it meant nothing, but Tooru had been embarrassed at the discussion all the same.

The rest of the apartment would be furnished by his grandparent’s old stuff they were currently replacing, and while it probably would smell like old people and look like it all belongs in a retirement home, Hajime and Tooru had accepted it with excitement. Free furniture was better than no furniture, after all.

Still, the conversation of the new apartment was pretty awkward. For one, having both their parents in the same room discussing who would buy what felt far too tense considering both families were excited for Tooru and Hajime. He knew though that even if his parents had accepted his relationship with Tooru, it didn’t mean they accepted the TiMER or the rest of the Oikawa family. Tooru had mentioned to him that his own family were trying to be cool with it too, but apparently his parents still had a hard time saying Iwaizumi’s parents’ names without grimacing.

“So you and Masato-san will get the dresser and Isamu and I will get the bed, Ayuki-chan?” Tooru’s mother had said, and her smile reminded Hajime of when Tooru faked his own. He had hated the way she said his mother’s name too, considering it sounded like she was trying to annoy her.

His mother had chuckled as sweetly as she could, but Hajime knew better that the laugh was one that preceded a lecture. “Oh of course, Kimiko-chan! It sounds like a wonderful plan!”

Tooru and Hajime had discreetly looked between themselves with similar expressions of “ _this was a terrible idea_.”

“But what about the bedside tables?” Hajime’s mother had continued, and Tooru’s mother had forced a laugh.

“We’ll get them, it’s no trouble for us! After all, we furnished Hiroko’s entire apartment since her roommate wasn’t going to help. I’m sure just the dresser is within your budget.”

“Oh, but we can definitely get some tables - or would you rather we get the cleaning supplies?”

Hajime closes his eyes as his memory fades out on the two women going back and forth, occasionally throwing in jabs at whether the other could even afford something. He sighs and wonders what their father’s had been thinking through the whole thing since they spent the entire time glaring at one another.

He starts to move the piles of junk around, hoping to clean it up just enough that his mother wouldn’t be angry when she got home. She’d been in a bad mood since meeting with the Oikawa’s and he wonders if he should have asked his grandparents to help instead - they _loved_ Tooru, and the TiMER never was a concern of theirs.

He drops that thought immediately, knowing if he had suggested that his mother would have thrown a fit at not being able to show up the Oikawa’s.

Hajime feels some of the junk start to fall from his arms as he carries it down the stairs, and he stops to try to catch it. He frowns to himself, thinking he should have grabbed a bag and come back up. He feels something hit his TiMER and his wrist jerks, making him wince. Ignoring the pain and deciding to come back for the stuff on the stairs, Hajime continues to the kitchen and reaches under the sink for a bag, throwing the junk in.

He pauses when he sees blood come away, and he looks back. There’s blood drops on the floor just behind him and Hajime drops the bag to check himself, specifically his wrist where he felt pain.

The TiMER is flickering, for a second it goes blank before coming back to zeroes. It flickers again, only when it comes back there’s dashes. Hajime blinks, leaning forward to see what might be wrong when he sees the little bit of blood coming from under the TiMER.

Suddenly, he remember what the contract said when he originally got the TiMER - _if it ever snags on something, see a doctor immediately. The TiMER should never come away from your skin_.

Hajime panics, turning his wrist to see that a part of the TiMER has come away from his skin. Gulping, he places his left thumb over it to press down, and immediately pain jolts through his arm. Gasping, he drops his hold and suddenly, more blood comes gushing from under the TiMER.

He reaches for his phone only to remember it’s up in his room. Hajime turns, slipping on the blood and falling to the ground just as his vision grows blurry. Panting in pain, he tries to pull himself up, but his arm is in too much pain to lift himself correctly.

He blacks out wishing Tooru would walk through the door he hears opening.

———

Tooru hums, putting the last packing tape onto the box he’d just finished filling. He made sure it wasn’t too heavy in case his mother or sister were to help move these things, and stood to look over his room.

He’s pretty sure he got everything he could ever want in his future home with Hajime, and he smiles to himself. Sure, his mother complained about having to be cooperative with Hajime’s mother, but in the end his father had told her it was for the best if Tooru were to be happy.

He wonders what his father thinks about the Iwaizumi’s, seeing as he didn’t say anything to them and had held a staring contest with Hajime’s father. Tooru thinks his father isn’t into the rivalry like his mother is, and he thinks the same could be said for Hajime’s father.

His mother steps into his room from the open door then, nodding at his work. “All packed, baby?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Tooru says, putting the tape down onto his desk. “I wonder if Hajime is done or not…”

“You could go and check,” she says, smiling softly. Tooru hums in thought, considering it briefly when his mother sighs. “I’m sorry for how I treated Ayuki-san the other day; your father said it was very childish of me.”

Tooru laughs, “it’s okay, mom - maybe you should apologise to her when we move in?”

She nods, but as she opens her mouth to say something in return, an odd sound comes from Tooru’s wrist. They exchange looks of confusion before Tooru lifts his wrist to look at his TiMER.

He feels his breath leave him. The edges of his vision go black as he looks at the white face of his TiMER - there’s no zeroes.

“Tooru?” His mother asks cautiously, moving closer and gently pulling his wrist towards herself. “W-what?” She gasps, seeing it for herself.

Tooru’s legs feel like mush as he tries to move forward. “M-mom, I need… I need to go to Hajime.”

“Tooru, baby, wait,” she grabs his shoulders, and Tooru realizes he’d almost fallen forward. “Breathe, baby, it’s going to be okay.”

“Mom, Hajime - I can’t - he’s not…”

“Baby, breathe! You’re hyperventilating!”

He takes a deep breath, but that doesn’t seem to help. His mother holds him close, but she can’t hold up his full weight. He doesn’t register they’re on the floor until he feels her body become less strained, holding him to her chest.

“It’s okay, Hajime’s okay baby, this is just…” she hesitates, and her words aren’t really helping, “it’s just a mistake, Tooru, it’s okay.”

Tooru’s gasping on his breath and his mother is trying to hush him but all he can think about is what a suddenly blank TiMER means. He can’t lose Hajime, this isn’t what was supposed to happen. They’re moving in together in a few weeks! Twenty-four days to be exact!

“Mom, I need some—” Hiroko’s voice cuts off and her foot steps hurry towards them. Tooru feels her hand on his shoulder as she asks, “mom, what’s going on?!”

“His TiMER - Hiroko, get the car ready, we need to get to the Iwaizumi’s now!”

“Mom—”

“ _Now, Hiroko_!” He feels his sister’s hand leave his shoulder and hears her run from the room.

Tooru’s trying to breathe correctly, but his mind won’t stop thinking about his blank TiMER.

His mother is pulling him up then, and Tooru tries to go with her. His legs won’t move though, and his mother grunts at the force she’s trying to use.

“Kimi, what’s—” his father’s voice enters the room before he hears him come closer and Tooru latches onto his father. “Kimi, what’s going on?!”

“Isamu, get him to the car, now!” His mother says, and Tooru tries to walk with his father, feeling him nod at the command and begin to carry him out of the room.

Tooru nearly falls down the stairs, but his father has a firm grip on him and his mother is hovering close behind. Soon the cool night air whips his face and Tooru takes a deep breath, trying to bring himself back to his senses.

The darkness around his eyes is opening back up and he sees the family car parked right in front, Hiroko in the driver’s seat. His father helps him into the back and climbs in with him. Tooru looks around, trying to breathe and seeing his mother jump into the front seat.

“Hiroko, go, to the Iwaizumi’s,” she hurries to say and the car jerks forward before his mother even closes her door.

“Mom, what happened?!” Hiroko asks in a panic, her eyes on the road.

“His TiMER is blank,” his mother hisses and Tooru feels his pulse pick back up.

His father grabs his wrist to look at it, and Tooru can’t look again, turning his head away.

It’s a short drive, but the flashing lights outside the Iwaizumi’s house is enough to cause Tooru to panic again. 

His father jumps out of the car when Hiroko pulls up, and he hurries over to where they can see Hajime’s father and sister. Tooru gulps, trying to remain calm when his father runs back.

His mother rolls her window down and looks up at him, “well? What did Masato say?”

“Hiroko, get Tooru to the hospital,” his father says instead, looking to the backseat where Tooru is. “Hajime’s been taken to the hospital.”

He steps away and Hiroko drives slowly around the emergency response teams before speeding up down the road.

Tooru twists to look back, seeing his father return to Masato and Kaida. Hajime’s sister was crying, Tooru could see it, and his own eyes burn, needing to shed tears as well but Tooru feels drained.

Hajime isn’t okay, something has gone terribly wrong and he needs to find him now.

They make it to the hospital and Tooru leaps from the car before Hiroko even comes to a stop. He hears his mother hurry after him, yelling to Hiroko to park the car somewhere. He runs to the information desk, startling the nurses on the other side.

“Where’s Iwaizumi Hajime?” He pants, his voice cracking on his panic.

The women blink up at him, before looking to each other. A man standing behind them steps forward, “he was just brought in to the emergency room - please sir, calm down. What’s your relation to him?”

Tooru feels his mother touch his back and he tries to remain calm. “I’m his soulmate.”

One of the women winces and the other looks up at him sadly. The man shakes his head, “I’m afraid we can’t let you in without his family.”

“What?” His mother snaps, and they turn their attention to her. Tooru’s legs feel numb again, and his breathing is quickening again. “They’re soulmates, why can’t he see Hajime?”

“Ma’am, the laws are changing because of the TiMER, but it’s still family only when it comes to the hospital,” the man at least looks upset at having to say this, “we can’t let him through without family permission.”

“Tooru!” A voice calls and Tooru jerks his head to the source, seeing Hajime’s mother hurrying forward. “Oh, he’s fine, please let him and his mother in!”

The man appears relieved, nodding hurriedly, “yes, then you’re both clear to go in.”

Tooru doesn’t hesitate, hurrying to Hajime’s mother. “Oh Tooru, I was just about to call you!”

“Where is he?” Tooru asks, and then he sees the blood on her clothes. “Iwaizumi-san, _where is he_?”

She nods and grabs his hand, waving his to follow before leading them through to the back. “They haven’t told me anything, but Hajime… oh, it was so terrible.”

The room is closed off, and Tooru stands outside the door, staring at it and hoping it will open to show him Hajime, alive and well.

“Ayuki, what happened?” His mother asks behind him, and he hears Hajime’s mother sniffle sadly.

“His TiMER, we’re not really sure but there was so much blood coming from under it,” she answers, and her voice crumbles. Tooru shivers at the words, turning to look back at her.

Hajime’s TiMER must have gotten snagged on something - it was a rare occurance and usually those it did happen to would be okay. But who knows how long Hajime’s had causes him to bleed for?

His mother is holding Hajime’s mother in a hug, rubbing her back sadly. She takes a deep breath, and begins in the most genuine voice Tooru’s heard from her in regards to Hajime’s mother, “Oh Ayuki, I’m so sorry - the TiMER can be dangerous and I feel if he’d listened to you—”

“Shut up, Kimiko,” she snaps, and Tooru jumps with his mother. “Hajime was going to get it for Tooru no matter what - I just… how could this have happened?”

She starts to sob into his mother’s shoulder and Tooru watches sadly, unable to do anything. He almost feels he shouldn’t be there. Hajime’s mother wasn’t wrong, he would have gotten it either way. And Tooru suddenly feels as though he’s caused the Iwaizumi family so much pain, just by being their son’s soulmate.

Tooru feels his body shake as he holds back tears - he doesn’t deserve Hajime, especially if he’s convinced him to get something that may have… He shakes his head; he can’t think of Hajime being gone, not when there’s a chance that he’s okay.

But his TiMER is blank and Tooru shudders at the thought. If Hajime is gone, Tooru’s not sure what he can do.

The door behind him opens and the three of them jerk to watch it, waiting for the doctors. The man and woman who step out pause, seeing the three of them and they both look to Tooru.

“Are you his soulmate?” The man says, and Tooru nods quickly. “Do you have any idea when or why he’d get his TiMER reset?”

Tooru’s heart pounds at the question and his eyes widen. “I… I’m sorry?”

“It looked as though his TiMER has been reset, but Iwaizumi-san isn’t able to clearly remember anything,” the woman answers, and she stands a little straighter. “If you have any information on when or why he would—”

“October,” Tooru answers, “and… he felt it was when he really should have gotten the TiMER, instead of when he did in June.”

The doctors both nod, frowning to one another. “Resetting the TiMER is dangerous work, and if it’s not placed back to where it was before, it could cause problems.”

“But it’s been months!” Tooru argues, looking between them. “Why is it only just now causing problems?!”

“I’ve seen TiMER’s that were fine for years before they suddenly snagged,” the man answers, frowning a little. “Honestly, it’s better to have it removed after you’ve reached zero, but the process is so expensive…”

The woman nods and sighs, “as wonderful of an experience as finding your soulmate is, you shouldn’t be keeping the zeroed out TiMER in your arm. I wish they would find a better process for getting it removed so it didn’t cost so much.”

Tooru’s shoulders slump and he looks back to both their mothers. His own looks pale and very concerned, while Hajime’s appears resigned.

“In any case, despite how disoriented Iwaizumi-san is, he’s asking for ‘Tooru’,” the woman continues, and Tooru looks back in surprise. “I take it that’s you…?”

Tooru nods, but he looks back to Hajime’s mother. “Shouldn’t you…?”

“No, sweetheart,” she shakes her head, his gaze to the floor, “my son wants you right now…”

He feels terrible and undeserving of this, but he nods to Hajime’s mother before turning back to walk through the door the doctor’s have opened for him.

The room is bright, and there’s machines beeping around the bed. Hajime is reclined in the bed, his face pale and exhausted. His right arm is bandaged, and Tooru wonders how terrible his wrist looks without the TiMER. He can only imagine two giant holes where the TiMER once was, and the idea sends a shiver down his spine.

Hajime slowly looks up to him and his eyes light up at the sight of him. “Tooru,” he whispers, a soft, tired smile pulling on his lips. “I knew you’d be here.”

Tooru’s face crumbles and he hurries to Hajime’s side, trying not to sob. “Why didn’t you ask for your mother? She deserves to see you, not me.”

Hajime gives him a confused look, and he glances to the door. “My mom…? She’s here too?”

Tooru shakes, feeling the tears begin to roll, “she rode in the ambulance with you, stupid.”

Hajime just continues to look confused, “but I thought you found me…”

“No, she’s the one covered in blood,” Tooru coughs, shaking his head. “I didn’t even know what happened until I got here.”

He turns to look back up at Tooru, reaching up with his left hand to wipe away his tears. “How did you know…?”

“My TiMER was suddenly blank,” Tooru mutters, trying to take in deep breaths. “I thought you were _dead_...”

Hajime stares at him, and his eyes look hazy. “I’m not dead… unless you are too,” he looks around the room, and Tooru watches him feeling dazed himself. “Is this supposed to be heaven? I thought it was a hospital,” Hajime mumbles before rolling his head back to Tooru, “hey, is there a heaven?”

Tooru gapes at him, narrowing his eyes. “What are you _on_?”

Hajime’s body bounces with the force of his shrug and he shakes his head. “I have no idea - maybe it’s from all the blood I lost…”

Tooru winces at the statement, and looks back to Hajime’s wrist. “Your TiMER…”

“It’s all broken or something,” Hajime slurs, and Tooru watches him try to move his arm before it falls back to the bed. “I can’t even…” Tooru waits, wondering if he’ll finish the sentence.

“Even what?”

“What?”

They stare at each other before Hajime busts out laughing, but he ends up coughing after. Tooru feels his body go cold and he wants to hold Hajime close, but he’s not sure if any of the wires will get jostled the wrong way if he does.

“I love you, Tooru,” Hajime says, and the grin on his face is the most ridiculous thing Tooru’s ever seen.

Tooru can’t hold back his sobs anymore and he moves to kiss Hajime quickly, “I love you too, stupid - you can’t ever die on me!”

Hajime nods against his face, their noses brushing a little. “I’m not gonna leave you…” Tooru sobs, and Hajime grunts, “ew, stop crying - you’re not pretty when you cry.”

Tooru laughs and decides to ignore the wires, wrapping his arms around Hajime to cry into his shoulder. Hajime’s left arm comes around and he rubs Tooru’s back.

“I’m pretty sure the one in the hospital bed is supposed to be crying, but okay,” Hajime says, his voice sounding as loopy as he looks. Tooru isn’t sure if he’s laughing, but it feels like he is through the tears.

———

Hajime scowls at the laughter of the two idiots Tooru met in one of his classes. “I hate you both,” he grunts, glaring at Kuroo and Bokuto. They almost remind him of Hanamaki and Matsukawa, but worse.

Kuroo snickers at him, “come on, I thought Oikawa said you were good at this game!”

“I’m whooping your _ass_ , Iwa-chan!” Bokuto howls, triumphantly holding the controller over his head. Tooru comes back into the room and smacks Bokuto in the head. “ _Ow_ , what was that for!”

“ _You_ don’t get to call him Iwa-chan, only I can!” Tooru huffs, glaring down at him. “And when are you two leaving?!”

Kuroo shakes his head, taking the controller from Hajime to play against Bokuto. “Iwaizumi said his friend from class is Sawamura, and that he’s coming over - we have a bone to pick with him.”

Hajime groans, smacking his forehead. He doesn’t even want to know how these two know Sawamura and he almost feels sorry for the old Karasuno captain.

Tooru scowls and grabs the controllers from them both. “He’s not coming for a few more days! Both of you, _out_!”

They both protest, but Tooru is shoving them off the couch and Hajime moves to help him corral them out the door of their apartment. He nearly slams the door on Bokuto’s hand, but luckily Kuroo pulls him away in time. Tooru hurries to lock the door and they both fall against it, sighing in relief.

The two have been living together for a few months and already it was summer break for both their universities. Unfortunately, Tooru had made friends with two very annoying guys who were raised in Tokyo and they took it upon themselves to visit nearly every day. Hajime had thought they’d get some time alone but instead, the two loved to come by and harass them.

“Sometimes I think they’re just Makki and Mattsun’s minions set out to ruin our lives in their place,” Tooru huffs, looking to Hajime with a pout.

“Oh good, I thought I was the only one,” Hajime snickers, making Tooru laugh.

They return to their living room and collapse onto the couch, watching the Smash bros opening sequence play again.

“Kuroo once told me it’s weird that we’re soulmates when we don’t even have TiMERs,” Tooru says then, and Hajime sends him a look. “I told him I got mine removed after yours broke, but he didn’t seem convinced.”

Hajime huffs, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like I can get mine replaced,” he mutters, sitting up to take the controller and play against Tooru. Tooru moves to do the same, and they start to play a new game.

The doctors informed Hajime (once he had properly rested, although they first lectured Tooru for sleeping in the small bed with Hajime) that due to the TiMER - quote on quote - “falling out of his wrist,” he’d be unable to get a new one, as his right wrist was damaged. Hajime didn’t mind seeing as his wrist still worked beyond being able to hold a TiMER in, but Tooru had seemed a little sad by this news. A week later and Tooru stopped by his house to show him his bandaged wrist, saying he got it removed.

Now no one they met seemed to believe them when they said they were soulmates. Sawamura had been shocked at the news when Hajime ran into him on campus, but he told Hajime that if they gave people time to see how they acted with one another, they’d eventually see it.

Hajime finishes off Tooru’s character, much to his annoyance and he smiles over at him. “So, bed…?”

Tooru pouts, “yeah yeah, you won…” Hajime leans over and kisses him, pulling him up. The scars on their wrists stand out to him as he leads Tooru to the bedroom, and he wonders how no one can believe they used to have TiMERs.

Hajime’s scars were worse, since the TiMER didn’t come out with an operation, but Tooru’s didn’t look much nicer. It was strange to think that just a few short months ago, they’d both had nasty stitches covering their wrists.

Just under the scars, little black text reads out on both their wrists - “ _zeroed out on October 27th, 2017_ " - followed by the other’s names. Hajime had suggested the tattoos when he noticed Tooru looking at Hajime’s wrist sadly, and maybe he was sad at the memory of that horrible day, but Hajime suggested it anyway. Originally, he suggested for it to read when he first got the TiMER, June 10th, but Tooru had disagreed.

“I’d rather have the day you told me you loved me as the date,” Tooru had replied, and Hajime couldn’t help but to agree.

He kisses him sweetly, feeling Tooru’s hands comb through his hair before they fall onto the bed. Tooru laughs when they bounce once, and Hajime grins down at him.

The TiMER brought them together, but he knew they never really needed it. All it did was answer for them something they weren’t ready to acknowledge, but now, Hajime couldn’t even imagine a future without Tooru.


End file.
